Car rock and roll hydraulic side bearing stabilizing arrangement

ABSTRACT

Lateral rocking and rolling motion of a railway car body with respect to a supporting truck bolster is controlled and damped by truck bolster-mounted spring-loaded constant contact side bearings each enclosed to form a hydraulic chamber and each connected to the other through a normally closed pressure responsive valve device to provide a closed hydraulic system, the valve device being constructed to provide restricted passage of fluid from either side bearing to the other under predetermined rock and roll conditions.

United States Patent 1 Hassenauer CAR ROCK AND ROLL HYDRAULIC SIDE BEARING STABILIZING ARRANGEMENT [75] Inventor: Robert L. Hassenauer, Wilmette. Ill.

[73] Assignee: Evans Products Company, Des

Plaines. Ill.

[22] Filed: July 5, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 485,971

[52] US. Cl. 105/199 CB; 267/3; 308/138 [51] Int. Cl B61! 5/14; F16c 17/04; F16f 9/10 [58] Field of Search 105/199 R 199 A, 199 CE,

{56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2.093.486 9/1937 Schoepf et al. t. 105/199 A 2,705,118 3/1955 Beck 248/10 June 17, 1975 Zupez 1. 308/138 Hood U 303N315 Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran Attorney. Agent, or Firm-F. Travers Burgess [57] ABSTRACT Lateral rocking and rolling motion of a railway car body with respect to a supporting truck bolster is controlled and damped by truck bolster-mounted springloaded constant contact side bearings each enclosed to form a hydraulic chamber and each connected to the other through a normally closed pressure responsive valve device to provide a closed hydraulic system, the valve device being constructed to provide re stricted passage of fluid from either side bearing to the other under predetermined rock and roll conditions.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures CAR ROCK AND ROLL HYDRAULIC SIDE BEARING STABILIZING ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUNDOF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention The invention relates to railway rolling stock and consists particularly in improved side bearing system for controlling and damping rocking and rolling movements of a railway car body with respect to the support ing truck bolster.

2. Prior Art Railway freight cars, particularly large covered hopper cars and other types of cars having a high center of gravity, experience rock and roll problems when traveling at low speeds l 3 to 19 mph) and at high speeds (50 to 60 mph]. Severe car body rock and roll motion can cause derailment when certain rail conditions are present and the low or high critical speed is reached. Hydraulic side bearings have been provided in an effort to solve this problem. Some have been separate hydraulic side bearings individually connected by a valve to an individual fluid reservoir, while others consist of plungers vertically movable in hydraulic cylinders directly interconnected to each other by a conduit having a restricted orifice but not having any pressure responsive valve means in the conduit for controlling passage of hydraulic fluid from one side bearing to the other.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the objects of the present invention are the provision of means to control rocking and rolling motion of a railway car body on its trucks which are simple, inexpensive and capable of application to existing truck structures without substantial modification of the truck structure. A further object is to provide a side bearing arrangement which will permit normal limited rocking and rolling movements but will control such movements and prevent their becoming excessive. Another object is to provide, in a hydraulically interconnected side bearing arrangement, valve means for transferring hydraulic fluid from the low side of the car to the high side of the car at reduced pressure whereby to dampen the rocking and rolling movements and reduce the likelihood of car derailment as a result of uncontrolled rocking and rolling movement. A still further object is to provide a simple, inexpensive, yet highly effective, pressure-responsive, pressurereducing valve for controlling rock and roll movements of car bodies on their trucks. Other objects include the provision of an improved elastomeric seal for the side bearings and the provision of effective antitruck hunting means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a transverse vertical sectional view ofa rail way car truck and adjacent portions of a car body sup ported thereon showing the application of the present invention to the truck.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view along line 33 of FIG. 2 showing details of the valve construction.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section of one of the side bearings along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to FIG. I, the truck has the usual railway flanged wheels 1, side frames 3, upright springs 5 carried by side frames 3 and a transverse bolster 7 resiliently supported from side frames 3 by springs 5.

At its center bolster 7 is provided with an upwardly facing truck center plate 9 on which body center plate 11 is pivotally seated. The latter is secured to the un- 0 derside of body underframe structure comprising a center sill l3 and bolster arms 15, body superstructure 17 being supported on underframe structure 13, 15.

At each side of center plate 9 spaced outwardly therefrom. individual side bearings 19 are mounted on truck bolster 7 for sliding engagement with downwardly facing body side bearings 21 secured to the bottom surfaces of bolster arms 15. Each side bearing 19 comprises a base plate 23 secured to the upper surface of truck bolster 7, an upstanding cylindrical wall 25, a downwardly open inverted cup-like cap member 27 having an outside diameter substantially less than the inside diameter of cylindrical wall 25, and centrally positioned within said wall and resiliently supported on base plate 23 by upright coil spring 29, the upper horizontal surface 31 of cap 27 being in opposed horizontal sliding relation with body side bearings 21. In order to form a sealed hydraulic chamber defined by base plate 23, cylindrical wall 27 and cap 27 and at the same time permit vertical movement of cap 27 on spring 29, the upper portion of the inner surface of cylindrical wall 25 is tapered outwardly and upwardly to form a concave frusto-conical surface and the lower portion of the outside surface of cap 27 is similarly tapered to form a convex frusto-conical surface, and an annulus 33 of elastomeric material is disposed between the opposing frusto-conical surfaces and bonded to both of them thereby forming a hydraulic seal and defining along with base plate 23, cylindrical wall 25 and cap 27 a closed sealed hydraulic chamber. Annulus 33 is of generally rectangular cross section and its upper surface is formed with a radius 34 substantially tangential to the frusto-conical outer surface of cap 27 to permit the annulus to roll on the cap surface when the cap is depressed during a rock and roll cycle.

Spring 29 will constantly act to maintain the upper surface 31 of side bearing cap members 27 in engagement with body side bearings 21 for hydraulically controlling rocking and rolling movements and preventing excessive buildup of such movements. Each of the side bearings is connected to the other by conduits comprising hoses 3S and valve device 37.

Valve device 37 consists of a body made up of two identical halves 39 rotated about their common transverse axis with respect to each other l to form a fluid pressureresponsive valve device through which fluid can pass from the high pressure side to the low pressure side after the car begins to roll but cannot pass in the opposite direction until spring 29 begins to right the car or until the car commences to roll in the opposite direction. Valve body halves 39 are positioned be tween a pair of transversely spaced angle brackets 41 mounted on a vertical wall of the bolster and are held in desired relation with each other thereon by endthreaded rods 43 which pass through flanges 45 on the outer ends of body halves 39 and brackets 41 and are secured to the latter by nuts 47. Each of the body members 39 is formed at its outer end with an axial cavity 49 and at its inner end with a second axial cavity 51, cavities 51 and 49 being separated from each other by transverse partitions 53 cylindrically apertured at 55. Each of the outer cavities 49 is provided with a flanged plug 57 outwardly flanged as at 58 and secured by screws 59 to the end surfaces of the respective body halves 39 and being of less depth axially of the valve than body cavities 49 so as to form chambers 61 in the inner portions of these cavities. Each plug 57 is axially cylindrically apertured at 63 to threadably receive a union 65 attached to the respective hoses 35 thereby providing communication between opposite side bearings 19 and the respective chamber 61. Each valve body section is formed with a radial bore 67 communieating by means of an aligned radial aperture 69 in the respective plugs 57 with the cylindrical apertures 63 of the plugs and with a second radial bore 71 in a radially opposite direction from bores 67 and offset longitudinally of the valve body member therefrom to communicate at their inner ends with chambers 61. Each bore 67 communicates with an axial bore 73 and each bore 71 communicates with an axial bore 75, each pair of bores 73 and 75 being in registry with each other to form a pair of continuous conduits connecting the corresponding radial bores 67 and 71. The valve device is provided with a pair of cylindrical closure members 77 slidably mounted in apertures 55 with their outer ends sealingly extending into the inner ends of plug apertures 63 to form separate inlet valves for each side bearing device and with radial flanges 79 intermediate their ends normally resiliently held in abutting relation with the inner surfaces of partitions 53 by a coil spring 81 positioned between flanges 79 of the opposite clo sure member 77 and surrounding the inwardly extending cylindrical portions of the latter. Springs 81 are calibrated to permit predetermined fluid pressure in inlet apertures 63 resulting from body rock and roll on the individual side bearing to open the valves and allow fluid from the high pressure side to pass to the low pressure sidev It will be evident from FIG. 3 that the respective top and bottom passageways formed by bores 71, 75, 73, 67 and 69 constitute bypasses around the right-hand and left-hand valves 63, 77, respectively, so that when either of the valves 77 is open, fluid can flow from the side bearing chamber on its side to the opposite side bearing chamber, though at reduced pressure because of the restricted opening.

As the car begins to rock, for example, to the right, cap 27 of righthand side bearing 19 is urged downwardly in opposition to coil spring 29, thus creating pressure in the hydraulic fluid in the spring chamber, in the hose 35 leading to valve 37 and against the end of the right-hand closure member 77. Until the hydraulic pressure on closure member 77 exceeds the pressure of spring 81 on closure member 77, closure member 77 remains seated in inlet aperture 63. Fluid in upper passage 69, 67, 73, 75, 71 is blocked at left-hand chamber 61 by left-hand closure member 77 which is also held in seated position by spring 81. when the downward pressure on right-hand spring cap 27 creates fluid pres sure exceeding the pressure of spring 81 on right-hand closure member 77, the latter is forced toward the left, providing a restricted annular opening past closure member 77, from right-hand inlet aperture 63 to righthand chamber 61, permitting the high pressure fluid from the right hand bearing to pass into chamber 61 and act of fluid in the lower passage 71, 75, 73, 67, 69 and force fluid through the valve passages. left-hand inlet aperture 63, associated union 65 and hose 35 into left-hand valve 19. When rocking oward the right stops and the body begins to rock toward the left, the reduction in hydraulic pressure in the right-hand side bearing and in righchanc valvu c 63, permits spring 81 to cause right-hand closure member 77 to block inlet passage 63 and terminate the flow offluid through the valve and into the left-hand bearing chamber. As cap 27 of the left-hand bearing is urged downwardly, its fluid acts on left-hand closure member 77 to open the same and permit the fluid to pass at reduced pressure through left-hand chamber 61, upper passage 71, 75, 73, 67, 69, right-hand inlet aperture 63, and hose 35 into right-hand bearing 19.

The device will continue to operate in this way through every rock and roll cycle until the rock and roll producing forces cease acting on the car body and the body returns to its normal position. aided by springs 29.

Because of the constant frictional engagement of the side bearings at both sides of the truck, as is assured by their springs and hydraulic interconnection, the bearings effectively oppose truck hunting as well as body rock and roll.

The details of the device may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention and the exclusive use of such modifications as come within the scope of the appended claims is contemplated.

1 claim:

1. A railway car side bearing system for placement between a car truck part and a car body part comprising a pair of transversely spaced bearing devices each having a sealed fluid filled chamber with relatively vertically movable top and bottom portions, conduit means connecting said sealed chambers with each other and includinga normally closed valve device openable under rock and roll including a and responsive to fluid pressure to the compressed side bearing chamber in excess of a predetermined pressure to provide restricted passage of fluid from the compressed side bearing chamber to the other chamber.

2. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 1 wherein said valve device includes a pair of normally closed valves each openable responsive, respectively, to fluid pressure in one of said bearing chambers in excess of a predetermined pressure, and passage means directly controlled by each of said valves and bypassing the other of said valves.

3. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 2 including spring means biasing said valves to closed position.

4. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 2 wherein said valve device comprises a pair of identical sections each including one of said valves and reversed about their common axis to provide both said bypass passage means.

5. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 1 wherein each of said bearing devices includes a spring in compression between said top and bottom members.

6. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 5 wherein each said chamber bottom portion is affixed to the truck part and is upwardly open and said top part is vertically movably received within the open top of said bottom portion in peripherally spaced relation thereto, there being an elastomeric member sealingly positioned in the peripheral space between said members.

7. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 6 wherein opposed portions of the inner and outer surfaces respectively of said bottom and top members are tapered outwardly, said elastomeric member being bonded to said tapered surface portions and having a rounded inner upper edge substantially tangential to the outer surface of said top member.

8. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 7 wherein said top member is of inverted cup shape, there being a coil spring seated on the bottom of said bottom member and extending through the hollow interior of said top member into engagement with the top wall thereof.

9. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 1 wherein said bearing device bottom members and said valve device are arranged for mounting on a car truck bolster.

10. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 9 wherein said bearing device top members are arranged for constant horizontally slidable engagement with downwardly facing bearing elements on a supported car body.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 7 Dated June 17, 1975 Inventor(s) Robert L. Hassenauer It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 4, line 37, "includinga" should read --including a--;

line 38, "including a" should read --condit1ons--:

line 39, "to" (second occurrence) should read Signed and Scaled this thirtieth Day of March 1976 [SEAL] l4ttesr:

RUTH C. MASON C. MARSHALL DANN Arresting Officer (mnnu'ssilmvr uflarenls and Trademarks 

1. A railway car side bearing system for placement between a car truck part and a car body part comprising a pair of transversely spaced bearing devices each having a sealed fluid-filled chamber with relatively vertically movable top and bottom portions, conduit means connecting said sealed chambers with each other and includinga normally closed valve device openable under rock and roll including a and responsive to fluid pressure to the compressed side bearing chamber in excess of a predetermined pressure to provide restricted passage of fluid from the compressed side bearing chamber to the other chamber.
 2. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 1 wherein said valve device includes a pair of normally closed valves each openable responsive, respectively, to fluid pressure in one of said bearing chambers in excess of a predetermined pressure, and passage means directly controlled by each of said valves and bypassing the other of said valves.
 3. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 2 including spring means biasing said valves to closed position.
 4. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 2 wherein said valve device comprises a pair of identical sections each including one of said valves and reversed about their common axis to provide both said bypass passage means.
 5. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 1 wherein each of said bearing devices includes a spring in compression between said top and bottom members.
 6. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 5 wherein each said chamber bottom portion is affixed to the truck part and is upwardly open and said top part is vertically movably received within the open top of said bottom portion in peripherally spaced relation thereto, there being an elastomeric member sealingly positioned in the peripheral space between said members.
 7. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 6 wherein opposed portions of the inner and outer surfaces respectively of said bottom and top members are tapered outwardly, said elastomeric member being bonded to said tapered surface portions and having a rounded inner upper edge substantially tangential to the outer surface of said top member.
 8. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 7 wherein said top member is of inverted cup shape, there being a coil spring seated on the bottom of said bottom member and extending through the hollow interior of said top member into engagement with the top wall thereof.
 9. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 1 wherein said bearing device bottom members and said valve device are arranged for mounting on a car truck bolster.
 10. A railway car side bearing system according to claim 9 wherein said bearing device top members are arranged for constant horizontally slidable engagement with downwardly facing bearing elements on a supported car body. 